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An £8m scheme to improve the water quality in the River Tame has just got underway, with roads in Stalybridge closed.
The work being carried out by United Utilities is going to take place at various locations around Stalybridge and Dukinfield and will help ease the pressure on the Victorian sewer system. The work should stop dirty water flowing into the river at times of heavy rainfall.
Currently, the junction of Trinity Street and Dean Road is closed to traffic while excavation work takes place. The work on these roads is expected to take over 16 weeks to complete.
Drain maintenance work at Rassbottom Street and Corporation Street in Stalybridge is expected to take place later in the year.
The project manager on the job, Steve Taylor, stated:

"We understand how inconvenient it is at this particular location, but we have absolutely no option.
"We need to construct a new overflow on the existing sewer, and the laws of drainage mean this is the exact spot where it has to be.
"We're working very closely with the council highways department to minimise disruption, but the junction has had to be closed for the safety of the public and our engineers.
"We are sorry for any inconvenience and we would ask people to continue to support their local shops which are very much open for business, even with the road and bus route diversions in place."

Drain maintenance experts are currently working on plans to make flooding on a street in Morpeth a thing of the past.
Bennetts Walk in Morpeth regularly floods at times of heavy rainfall, so Northumbrian Water recently conducted a feasibility study into why this happens and what can be done to solve the problem. It was found that the sewer simply cannot cope with the quantity of water that needs to be taken away so Northumbrian Water have suggested the construction of a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) to alleviate the problem.
Other areas of Morpeth have been struggling with flooding too, with streets in Middle Greens and Goosehill seeing flooding due to highway drainage problems.
A Northumbrian Water spokesperson stated:

“Obviously we appreciate that the people of Morpeth have suffered extreme flooding.
“The issues are very complex and the council, Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water are working together.
“Northumbrian Water has identified that the sewerage network in the Bennetts Walk area needs to be upgraded and we are currently carrying out investigations to identify the most suitable solution. We will keep residents informed of the progress.”

A local pumping station has had over £50,000 spent on it recently by Northumbrian Water. This is to make sure the station still pumps waste water in the event of a power loss at the site due to flooding.

A road in Buckingham has had to be closed to traffic after a section collapsed, leaving a large hole in the road.
Market Hill was closed near the Old Gaol on Monday after the sewer underneath the road collapsed. Upon investigation by the local water company, it was found that the most likely cause of the collapse was a gas main that had been resting on the surface of the sewer pipe, and over time the weight had caused cracks in the pipe to appear and hence the eventual collapse of the pipe.
Work on the sewer was undertaken quickly, with drain maintenance teams reinforcing the section that had collapsed, however the road is expected to be closed to traffic until Friday.
A spokesperson for Anglian Water who is carrying out the repairs stated:

“We are sorry for any inconvenience but had to act quickly in order to prevent sewer flooding and any further damage.
“It was also important to close the road to ensure the safety of our workforce and to speed up repairs.
“These have now been completed and we currently reinstating the road, which will re-open by Friday.”

Works are currently ongoing to replace a large section of public sewer underneath a country path in East Sussex.
The works, which began in November, have seen delays due to the heavy snow that fell at the end of last year and unfortunate emergency repair work that had to be carried out on a rising main. Over 700 metres of drainage pipe has already been replaced, and Southern Water hopes the job will be complete before Easter.
The country path in Polegate, which is popularly known in the area as the cuckoo trail, was closed to the public in November when the works started. The drainage pipe had been prone to leaks due to its age and had to be replaced due to the likelihood that further leaks would occur.
Southern Water’s project manager on the drain replacement project, Keith Jeffery, stated:

“The replacement of these 1,500 metres of sewer along the Cuckoo Trail is just an initial phase of a multi-million scheme to replace the entire 5.2km length of sewer at this location. This work is currently in the design stage, and Southern Water will be updating the public on the progress of the project”.

A local drain maintenance contractor is carrying out the works for Southern Water.

Southern Water is investing £4 million on the refurbishment of a sewage treatment works in Hampshire.
Over the next year, the water company will fully refurbish Ludgershall wastewater treatment works on the border of Hampshire and Wiltshire. The improvement works need to be done to make sure that the existing sewage treatment works conform to the new standards set by the Environment Agency.
The plant will see new equipment installed, including complete new treatment units and a new pumping station. Other components on the site will be refurbished.
The treatment works at Ludgershall serve just under 5,000 local residents and process over 2.5 million litres of waste water every day. The works are expected to be completed sometime in late 2012.
Southern Water contracts engineer, Dennis Taplin, stated:

“We’re delighted to be starting this important scheme, which will improve the quality of wastewater being recycled into the environment.
“I’d like to thank customers for their patience while we carry out this scheme. Our priority is to complete the scheme with as little disruption to the community as possible.”

A suburb of Greater Manchester is currently having its sewers replaced as part of a major project to stop flooding at times of heavy rainfall.
The sewage system in the Davenhill Road area of Levenshulme is being replaced with a system that can carry a greater volume of waste water. This means that during storm conditions, when there are extraordinary levels of rainfall, the sewers should not overflow.
The works are already underway, with the scheme already reaching Errwood road. The sewer under Errwood road is going to be replaced with one that can carry four times as much water as the existing sewer, so the road will be closed while the installation takes place.
While the work is taking place, traffic management systems will be operating in the area.
The project coordinator on the job, Matthew Steer, stated:

"We're doing this work to give peace of mind to those local homeowners who have lived with terrible problem of internal flooding with sewage when it rains heavily.
"We're sorry for any temporary disruption while the major engineering work is carried out, but it will be well worth it in the long run.
"We'd ask people to bear with us throughout the road closure and diversion. Although Errwood Road is closed to through traffic, we will maintain access up to the work area for residents."

The work is expected to take the drain maintenance company around five months to complete.

Residents in Wigginton in Yorkshire are hoping that a spate of drainage problems in the town has been resolved by Yorkshire Water.
The water company has been investigating a series of flooding incidents in the town, which has seen raw sewage enter resident’s gardens and flood the main street. Using sophisticated CCTV survey equipment, the drain installation and repair company have found that most of the problems have been caused by inappropriate items in the drain blocking the flow of waste water.
Unfortunately, most of the items found by Yorkshire Water have not just been disposed of in the drainage system by error; it seems they have been put down the drain instead of being put into the general refuse.
A spokesperson for Yorkshire water stated:

“It’s sad to say, but these blockages have been caused by building materials which have been knowingly discarded into the local sewer network.
“On each occasion this has been brought to our attention, our technicians have been out to inspect the network and remove any items causing partial blockages, including pieces of plaster, timber and concrete.
“We are currently investigating to try and determine the source of these materials with a view to taking appropriate action to put a stop to such irresponsible and potentially damaging and costly behaviour.
“In instances like this we would always encourage people to think before they put things down their drains, toilets and sinks as the consequences of these actions, and the potential suffering they can cause is clear for all to see.”

Clearing a blocked drain is really only the first part of a process. While a blocked drain is the most obvious sign that there is a problem with the way waste water drains away, it is actually only the conclusion of what might in many cases be a longer process.
Having cleared the blockage, a good drainage company will then try and identify the root cause. In many case, drains eventually become blocked because they are soiled or scaled. Descaling is called for in these instances as this will help prevent further blockages from coming about.
Professionals will generally make use of electro-mechanical equipment to descale sections of pipe. This will remove deposits and grease build-up as well as smoothing rough edges which can ultimately lead to much larger problems.
The machine used is in the form of a rotating drum filled with cable on which there is a cutting head suitable for the diameter of the pipe. The cable is fed through the pipe and scrapes away debris, smoothing the interior.
After this, scale is pushed through to an access chamber where it can more easily be removed.

Sewer overflows at Maryport on the Cumbrian coast should see a significant drop in the occasions in which they are used, after United Utilities announced a £5million plan to stop sewage being pumped into the sea at times of heavy rainfall.
Currently during storm conditions, the sewers in the area cannot cope with the amount of rain, so they have to be discharged at sea to stop flooding on land. To stop this problem and help the environment, United Utilities are going to construct a huge underground storage tank in Hutton Place which will hold nearly 6,000 cubic metres of storm water, which will be treated in the usual way when the rain subsides. New pipelines and pumping equipment will also be fitted as part of the investment.
Geraud Ramond, the project manager, stated:

"Overflows are an essential part of any sewer system but by increasing the capacity of our network we can make sure this one is used much less often. It will be excellent news for beach lovers and also the shellfish which live in these lovely coastal waters. The work will help us meet tough new European standards on bathing waters and shellfish habitats."

The works will start in September after planning approval has been granted.

Wessex Water is spending nearly £250,000 to reduce flooding in Bath. The junction of Lower Bristol road and Connection Road has flooded on numerous occasions in the recent past during times of heavy rainfall. So, to try to alleviate the problem, the water company are constructing a new sewer which will carry a larger volume of waste water.
Connection Road will be closed to traffic for five weeks on Monday the 17th of January. And on Bristol Road, a two-way traffic light system will be put in place to try to minimise traffic congestion. Local residents have been informed of the works and signs advising motorists of the works have been put in place.
Paul Godfrey, the project manager on the works stated:

“There have been times when a section of Lower Bristol Road near the railway arches have been seriously flooded causing problems for local businesses, motorists and pedestrians.
“The work involves providing extra capacity in the sewerage network so when there is a sudden downpour waste water can be take away safely which will help to alleviate localised flooding which the area has experienced.”